Bill Barr told Trump that ‘clownish’ legal team was lying to him about ‘bull***’ voter fraud claims, reports say

President Trump's former Attorney General Bill Barr called Mr Trump's legal team "clownish" and the president's claims that the election had been stolen from him "bull****," according to reporting by Axios. This was during a December meeting in the White House that Mr Trump had asked Mr Barr to attend after seeing a story by the Associated Press that quoted Mr Barr as saying "we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election". Mr Barr had been one of the most loyal members of Mr Trump's administration, supporting his executive power at every turn and spinning the release of the Mueller report on Russian interference in the 2016 election in the best way possible for the president.

Boy Killed By Father After Vaccination Dispute in Heartbreaking Murder-Suicide in SF

A boy who was killed in an alleged murder-suicide by his father has been identified as 9-year-old Pierce O'Loughlin. Family tragedy: The boy and his father, Stephen O'Loughlin, 49, were both found dead at their home on Scott Street, Marina District in San Francisco on Wednesday afternoon, SF Chronicle reports. The boy's mother, Lesley Hu, asked authorities to check on her son after learning that he did not show up for school that day.

Woman who 'took laptop' from Pelosi's office in Capitol riot 'planned to sell it to Russian spies'

A woman identified as having taken part in the storming of the US Capitol is accused of stealing a laptop   belonging to top Democrat Nancy Pelosi which she hoped to sell to a Russian spy agency, according to the FBI. There is no indication Riley June Williams, a 22-year-old careworker from Pennsylvania, took a laptop from Ms Pelosi's office. The FBI, which is working off a tip, said in the court record the "matter remains under investigation."

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  Capitol rioter allegedly planned to sell laptop from Pelosi's office to Russia

  Engadget
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  Cowboys for Trump leader arrested over US Capitol riot

  Associated Press

Pakistan PM angry over reports TV anchor knew about strike

Pakistan's prime minister reacted angrily Monday to media reports of a text exchange between an Indian TV anchor and a former media industry executive that suggests a 2019 Indian airstrike inside Pakistan was designed to boost Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's chances for re-election. Imran Khan took to Twitter to respond to Indian media reports of an exchange on the WhatsApp messaging service between popular Indian TV anchor Arnab Goswami and Partho Dasgupta, the former head of a TV rating company.

Trump news - live: Pelosi raises alarm over loyalist installed at NSA, as Biden finalises inauguration speech

Rehearsals for Joe Biden's inauguration have had to be evacuted in Washington, DC, and the US Capitol placed under lockdown over an “external security threat”, apparently a nearby fire, as tensions remain high in the wake of the Capitol riot on 6 January. That comes as Donald Trump is reportedly planning to host a farewell ceremony for himself at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland early on Wednesday morning before jetting out to Mar-a-Lago in Florida to return to life as a private citizen as Mr Biden is sworn in as his successor.

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  Biden inauguration rehearsal paused amid US Capitol lockdown

  BBC
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  Where will Trump be on Inauguration Day?

  The Independent

In Tokyo's lockdown, some drink on even after authorities call time

For Yuuki Hamazono, it was a relief to find bars and restaurants in Tokyo flouting the Japanese government's request to close by 8 p.m. The 30-year-old financial trader was one of many people out in the Shimbashi nightlife district during the first weekend of an expanded state of emergency, with the government pleading for residents to stay home to contain the coronavirus. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared a state of emergency for Tokyo and surrounding prefectures this month.

Christian girl chained up in cattle pen for five months after forced marriage to Muslim

A Christian girl has been taken into care in Pakistan after allegedly being abducted by a Muslim man who forced her to marry him and kept her chained up in a cattle pen. The girl spent five months chained up in the pen in the yard of her 45-year-old captor's home, where she was forced to work all day clearing the animals' dung, her family claim. They said that when she was rescued by police last month, she had cuts on her ankles left by the shackles put on her by captor, who is also said to have raped her repeatedly.

Ted Cruz's former staffers say they are 'disgusted' by his role in the US Capitol insurrection and his unflinching support of Trump, report says

At least six of Sen. Ted Cruz's former aides have expressed their disgust at the recent actions of their former boss, according to New York Magazine's Intelligencer. Ted Cruz is under fire for spreading election misinformation, objecting to the results of the 2020 election being certified, and having fundraised during the US Capitol insurrection. Democratic lawmakers have called for Cruz to resign or to be removed from office.

Trump Signs Executive Order Expanding Prosecutors’ Access to Concealed Carry Permits

President Trump signed an executive order on Monday expanding access to personal firearms for federal law enforcement officials. The order is one of the last of Trump's presidency, with Joe Biden set to be sworn into office on Wednesday. The purpose of the order is to remove “undue obstacles” for law enforcement officers and prosecutors to obtain concealed carry licenses, as well as to expand protections for prosecutors and judges.

Care worker charged in Capitol riots investigated by FBI for trying to ‘steal Pelosi’s laptop and sell it to Russia’

A care worker charged in connection with the Capitol riots has been accused of attempting to steal House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's laptop in order to sell it to Russia. Riley June Williams, 22, from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was accused of stealing the laptop by a former partner, who identified her to the FBI after footage emerged of Ms Williams inside the Capitol building. The alleged former partner “stated that Williams intended to send the computer device to a friend in Russia, who then planned to sell the device to SVR, Russia's foreign intelligence service,” according to an affidavit.

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  Capitol rioter allegedly planned to sell laptop from Pelosi's office to Russia

  Engadget
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  Cowboys for Trump leader arrested over US Capitol riot

  Associated Press

Marjorie Taylor Greene suspended from Twitter after telling Trump supporters to ‘mobilise’

Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene was suspended from Twitter for 12 hours after sending out a now-deleted tweet telling Trump supporters to "mobilize". ProPublica preserved the deleted tweet, which said: "I encourage all Americans, not just the 75 million people who voted for President Trump, to mobilize and make your voices heard in opposition to these attacks on our liberties." A Twitter spokesperson told NPR that Ms Greene "has been temporarily locked out for multiple violations of our civic integrity policy".

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  Twitter Temporarily Suspends QAnon Rep. For Election Disinformation, Inciting Violence

  HuffPost
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  Twitter locks account of Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican who promoted QAnon

  Reuters

Farewell, Ivanka Trump? No, Ivanka Doesn’t Want to Say Farewell.

Ivanka Trump's time in the White House has been horrible for America. Watch: Where do Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner go from here? Call it classic rich kid brattiness or a more complicated kind of delusion, but for Ivanka the future is still bright, or it is in her determination to just carry on regardless.

A Chinese restaurant has gone viral for its searingly honest dish descriptions: 'This one is not that good'

A Chinese restaurant in Montreal has gone viral for its descriptions of dishes on its menu. Feigang Fei's comments on Aunt Dai restaurant's menu are searingly honest — and very amusing. "Comparing to our General Tao Chicken, this one is not THAT good," Fei wrote of the orange chicken.

All 4 nurses in a Kansas county's health department refused to give out COVID-19 vaccines

All four nurses in one Kansas county's health department refused to give patients COVID-19 vaccines. The health department administrator shared debunked vaccine misinformation as part of their reasoning. The county will contract with other nurses to distribute the vaccine.

Bombshell report links Trump insiders to Washington rally that led to Capitol riots

At least three people from the campaign team of Donald Trump allegedly played a key role in organising the rally in Washington that culminated in a deadly assault on the US Capitol building, belying the campaign's claim that they did “organise, operate or finance” the event. Among those associated was Maggie Mulvaney, the niece of former acting White House chief of staff , Mick Mulvaney, found an investigation by the Associated Press. The AP report revealed that during the event organised by the Trump-supporting group, Women for America, a public gathering permit was granted to Ms Mulvaney, where she was listed as a “VIP Lead”.

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  Records: Trump allies behind rally that ignited Capitol riot

  Associated Press
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  Former Trump campaign staffers helped organize the rally that led to the deadly Capitol riot, records show, despite the campaign's repeated claims it wasn't involved

  Business Insider

Fauci predicts that people will be able to go back to singing in church by mid-fall, when an 'overwhelming proportion' of the US has been vaccinated

Church services that resemble pre-coronavirus worship should resume in mid-fall, Dr. Anthony Fauci predicted Monday. Churches have been the sites of super-spreader events, since the virus spreads easily indoors when people are speaking loudly or singing in close quarters. Dr. Anthony Fauci predicts church services - with hugging, praising, and music-making - will be able to resume safely in mid-fall, if the US vaccinates people "appropriately, effectively, and efficiently."

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  Dr. Fauci Reveals "Best Way" to Avoid COVID

  Eat This, Not That!
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  Fauci: Two more Covid vaccines just ‘weeks’ away from US distribution

  The Independent

Trump ‘won’t pardon himself or family’, says Fox News

President Trump is not expected to issue pardons for himself or his family, according to Fox News White House correspondent John Roberts. White House aides and lawyers have reportedly urged the president not to try to pardon himself or to issue preemptive pardons for members of his family, fearing that it might lead to more Republican Senators to vote to convict Mr Trump in the upcoming Senate impeachment trial. No president has tried to pardon themselves while in office.

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  Trump Cronies Reportedly Cashing In As They Lobby President For Wealthy Felon Pardons

  HuffPost
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  Trump so far not planning to pardon himself: source

  Reuters Videos

A Princeton professor warned students not to take his class while in China amid the country's tightening grip on dissent

Rory Truex, an assistant professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton University, told students not to take his course on Chinese politics if they currently reside in China. Truex told the Daily Princetonian the course covers subjects the Chinese government may consider sensitive and could endanger students. American academics fear for their Chinese students in the wake of China's increasingly bold crackdown on political dissent at home and abroad.

Watch a Virgin Orbit rocket successfully launch from beneath the wing of a Boeing 747, marking the latest entrant to the commercial space race

Virgin Orbit on Sunday launched its first rocket to successfully reach Earth's orbit. The rocket launched from a modified Boeing 747 and carried 10 small satellites for NASA. "A new gateway to space has just sprung open!" Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart said.

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  Watch Virgin Orbit launch a rocket to space from a modified 747 for the first time

  TechCrunch
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  Virgin Orbit reaches orbit for the first time

  TechCrunch

Japanese Boy Bullied for Speaking Portuguese to Cristiano Ronaldo Becomes National Soccer Champion

A Japanese boy was ridiculed by reporters after trying to speak Portuguese with Cristiano Ronaldo in 2014. Ryota Iwaoka attended a press conference around seven years ago for Facial Fitness Pao, a beauty product that Ronaldo was a spokesperson of. Iwaoka managed to secure one of the three slots for an exclusive Q&A with the soccer superstar, according to Yahoo News Japan via SoraNews24.

Melania Trump is leaving the White House at the most unpopular point of her tenure as first lady

Melania Trump will depart from the White House this week at the most unpopular point of her tenure as the nation's first lady, according to a new CNN poll, following the deadly mob attacks on the US Capitol in support of her husband. Ms Trump has a 42 per cent favourability rating nationwide, the lowest rating she received since the poll began in 2016, while her unfavourability rating has continued to climb to 47 per cent. The first lady recently received criticism for her response to the violent attacks on the Capitol, in which she decried “salacious gossip” she claimed to have endured as the country was still in shock following the deadly riots.

Meghan Markle's estranged father Thomas Markle says he's making a documentary to 'figure out what went wrong' between them

Thomas Markle told The Sun that he's working with a cinematographer on a documentary about his life with estranged daughter Meghan Markle. Thomas Markle said he's making a documentary about Meghan Markle - and he hopes it will help "figure out what went wrong" in their relationship. Thomas, who has not spoken with Meghan and Prince Harry since before their royal wedding in 2018, told The Sun that he is working with a cinematographer and hopes to complete the project later this year.

Rupert Grint says fame is the one thing he, Emma Watson, and Daniel Radcliffe never talk about together

In an interview with The Sunday Times, Rupert Grint said that fame is the one subject he and fellow "Harry Potter" stars Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe never talk about together. Grint said: "Potter happened at such a young age and I found it hard to deal with the fame side of things." Rupert Grint said that fame is the one topic that he and his former "Harry Potters" costars Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe never talk about.

The director of Tiger Woods' documentary is shocked by how loyal his former mistress and caddie still are to the golfing legend

"Tiger" director Matthew Hamachek told Insider that the biggest surprise in making the movie about the golfing legend was how loyal people are to Tiger Woods — even the ones he has scorned. That includes his former mistress, Rachel Uchitel, and his fired caddie Steve Williams, who both took months to decide to participate in the documentary. "Even the people who were scorned by Tiger [or] had a bone to pick with him, they are fiercely protective of him," he told Insider.